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Shares of gold miners slip

NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of several gold mining companies slipped Friday after a Jefferies analyst said that he expects most of them to fall further.

"Given the dramatic decline in share prices, some may perceive gold equities as inexpensive. We strongly disagree," said Jefferies analyst Peter Ward in a note to clients.

Gold prices have fallen about 20 percent this year. They were trading around $1,310 per ounce on Friday afternoon. Ward said that gold prices will remain around $1,300 an ounce of the rest of the year, and long term, will fall to $1,250 per ounce.

Ward said that Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. is his favorite stock in the industry, saying that it is a better value than others. Shares of Freeport-McMoRan rose 85 cents, or 2.6 percent, to $33.86 in afternoon trading Friday.